The 25-year-old injured 22 people in a packed nightclub in Dalston, London, in April

December 19, 2017 - 21:17 GMTHanna Fillingham Arthur Collins, 25, has been sentenced to prison for 20 years for an acid attack on clubbers in April. He is the ex-boyfriend of TOWIE star Ferne McCann

Arthur Collins, 25, has been sentenced to prison for 20 years for carrying out an acid attack in a London nightclub earlier in the year. The ex-boyfriend of former TOWIE star Ferne McCann threw acid across a packed nightclub in Dalston, East London, on 17 April - injuring 22 people. He was sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court on Tuesday, and has been imprisoned for 20 years - with an extra five years on licence. Ferne's ex-boyfriend had been convicted of five counts of grievous bodily harm with intent and nine counts of actual bodily harm at a hearing in November.

The act was described as "deliberate and calculated," by Judge Lucas QC, who said: "You knew precisely what strong acid would do to human skin. Having thrown the acid over the club you slunk away and hid in the rear and pretended to be nothing to do with the mayhem you had caused. It was deliberate and calculated and you were intent on causing really serious harm to your victims."

Arthur was already serving a six-month sentence, which had been suspended for a year, having been found guilty of punching a man outside a nightclub in Greenwich. He also holds five more previous convictions, which date back to 2008. These include drink-driving, possession of Class A drugs, and assault. During the hearing on Tuesday, Arthur referred to the attack as a "stupid little mistake."

Arthur is the ex-boyfriend of Ferne McCann

The news comes just over a month after Ferne welcomed her first child with Arthur. The reality TV star welcomed a baby daughter – named Sunday Sky – on 2 November, and has vowed to raise her alone. Ferne broke up with Arthur shortly after the acid attack. The new mum recently admitted on her documentary, Ferne McCann: First Time Mum, that she has been struggling with the news. She said: "There is not a day goes by that I haven’t cried. It’s for so many reasons, it’s because I’m scared, I feel lonely, I feel sad.”

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